Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet.

Early life

Daudet was born in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ''

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

''. His father, Vincent Daudet, was a

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

manufacturer—a man dogged through life by misfortune and failure. Alphonse, amid much truancy, had a depressing boyhood. In 1856 he left

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, where his schooldays had been mainly spent, and began his career as a schoolteacher at

Alès Alès () is a Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. Until 1926, i ...

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Le Petit Chose''. On 1 November 1857, he abandoned teaching and took refuge with his brother Ernest Daudet, three years his senior, who was trying, "and thereto soberly", to make a living as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

in Paris. Alphonse took to writing, and his poems were collected into a small volume, ''Les Amoureuses'' (1858), which met with a fair reception. He obtained employment on ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'', then under Cartier de Villemessant's energetic editorship, wrote two or three plays, and began to be recognized in literary communities as possessing distinction and promise. Morny,

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

's all-powerful minister, appointed him to be one of his secretaries—a post which he held till Morny's death in 1865.

Literary career

In 1866, Daudet's '' Lettres de mon moulin'' (''Letters from My Windmill''), written in Clamart, near Paris, and alluding to a

windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

in Fontvieille,

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

, won the attention of many readers. The first of his longer books, '' Le Petit Chose'' (1868), did not, however, produce popular sensation. It is, in the main, the story of his own earlier years told with much grace and pathos. The year 1872 brought the famous '' Aventures prodigieuses de Tartarin de Tarascon'', and the three-act play '' L'Arlésienne''. But '' Fromont jeune et Risler aîné'' (1874) at once took the world by storm. It struck a note, not new certainly in English literature, but comparatively new in French. His creativeness resulted in characters that were real and also typical. '' Jack'', a novel about an illegitimate child, a martyr to his mother's selfishness, which followed in 1876, served only to deepen the same impression. Henceforward his career was that of a successful

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the world of culture, either ...

, mainly spent writing novels: ''Le Nabab'' (1877), ''Les Rois en exil'' (1879), ''Numa Roumestan'' (1881), '' Sapho'' (1884), ''L'Immortel'' (1888), and writing for the stage: reminiscing in ''Trente ans de Paris'' (1887) and ''Souvenirs d'un homme de lettres'' (1888). These, with the three Tartarins–'' Tartarin de Tarascon'', '' Tartarin sur les Alpes'', '' Port-Tarascon''–and the short stories, written for the most part before he had acquired fame and fortune, constitute his life work. ''L'Immortel'' is a bitter attack on the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, to which august body Daudet never belonged. Daudet also wrote for children, including ''La Belle Nivernaise'', the story of an old boat and her crew. In 1867 Daudet married Julia Allard, author of ''Impressions de nature et d'art'' (1879), ''L'Enfance d'une Parisienne'' (1883), and some literary studies written under the pseudonym "Karl Steen". Daudet was far from faithful, and was one of a generation of French literary syphilitics. Having lost his virginity at the age of twelve, he then slept with his friends' mistresses throughout his marriage. Daudet would undergo several painful treatments and operations for his subsequently paralysing disease. His journal entries relating to the pain he experienced from

tabes dorsalis Tabes dorsalis is a late consequence of neurosyphilis, characterized by the slow degeneration (specifically, demyelination) of the neural tracts primarily in the Dorsal root ganglion, dorsal root ganglia of the spinal cord (nerve root). These pati ...

are collected in the volume '' In the Land of Pain'', translated by

Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with ''The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with ''Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and ''Arthu ...

. He died in Paris on 16 December 1897, and was interred at that city's

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

. * The story of Daudet's earlier years is told in his brother Ernest Daudet'
''Mon frère et moi''
There is a good deal of autobiographical detail in Daudet's ''Trente ans de Paris'' and ''Souvenirs d'un homme de lettres'', and also scattered in his other books. The references to him in the '' Journal des Goncourt'' are numerous.

Political and social views, controversy and legacy

Daudet was a monarchist and a fervent opponent of the French Republic. He was an antisemite, though less famously so than his son Léon. The main character of ''Le Nabab'' was inspired by a Jewish politician who was elected as a deputy for Nîmes. Daudet campaigned against him and lost. Daudet counted many antisemitic literary figures amongst his friends, including Edouard Drumont, who founded the

Antisemitic League of France The Anti-Jewish League of France () was founded in 1889 by journalist Edouard Drumont, with the support of other right-wing French antisemites such as Jacques de Biez, Albert Millot, and Marquis de Morès. First known under the name of (Nationa ...

and founded and edited the anti-Semitic newspaper ''La Libre Parole''.Gérard Gengembre, professeur de littérature française à l'Université de Caen. In DAUDET, Alphonse. ''Lettres de mon moulin'', Paris, Pocket, 1998, . (Pocket classiques ; 6038). It has been argued that Daudet deliberately exaggerated his links to Provence to further his literary career and social success (following Frederic Mistral's success), including lying to his future wife about his "Provençal" roots. Numerous colleges and schools in contemporary France bear his name and his books are widely read and several are in print.

Works

Major works, and works in English translation (date given of first translation). For a complete bibliography see . * '' Les Amoureuses'' (1858; poems, first published work). * '' Le Petit Chose'' (1868; English: ''Little Good-For-Nothing'', 1885; or ''Little What's-His-Name'', 1898). * '' Lettres de Mon Moulin'' (1869; English: ''Letters from my Mill'', 1880, short stories). * '' Tartarin de Tarascon'' (1872; English: ''Tartarin of Tarascon'', 1896). * '' L'Arlésienne'' (1872; novella originally part of ''Lettres de Mon Moulin'' made into a play) * '' Contes du Lundi'' (1873; English: ''The Monday Tales'', 1900; short stories). * '' Les Femmes d'Artistes'' (1874; English: ''Artists' Wives'', 1896). * '' Robert Helmont'' (1874; English: ''Robert Helmont: the Diary of a Recluse'', 1896). * '' Fromont jeune et Risler aîné'' (1874; English: ''Fromont Junior and Risler Senior'', 1894). * '' Jack'' (1876; English: ''Jack'', 1897). * '' Le Nabab'' (1877; English: ''The Nabob'', 1878). * '' Les Rois en Exil'' (1879; English: ''Kings in Exile'', 1896). * '' Numa Roumestan'' (1880; English: ''Numa Roumestan: or, Joy Abroad and Grief at Home'', 1884). 7DNR2346

* '' L'Evangéliste'' (1883; English: ''The Evangelist'', 1883). * '' Sapho'' (1884); (English: ''Sappho'', 1886). * '' Tartarin sur les Alpes'' (1885; English: ''Tartarin on the Alps'', 1891). * '' La Belle Nivernaise'' (1886; English: ''La Belle Nivernaise'', 1892, juvenile). * ''L'Immortel'' (1888; English: ''One of the Forty'', 1888). * '' Port-Tarascon'' (1890; English: ''Port Tarascon'', 1890). * '' Rose and Ninette'' (1892; English: ''Rose and Ninette'', 1892).White, Nicholas (2001–2002). "Paternal Perspectives on Divorce in Alphonse Daudet's "Rose et Ninette" (1892)", ''Nineteenth-Century French Studies'', Vol. 30, Nos. 1/2, pp. 131–147. * * '' La Doulou'' (1930; English: ''In The Land of Pain'', 2003; translator:

). * '' The Last Lesson''

References

Bibliography * Dobie, G. Vera (1949). ''Alphonse Daudet''. London and New York: Nelson. * Roche, Alphonse V. (1976). ''Alphonse Daudet''. Boston: Twayne Publishers. * Sachs, Murray (1965). ''The Career of Alphonse Daudet: A Critical Study''. Harvard University Press.

* Burton, Richard (1898)
"Björnson, Daudet, James: A Study in the Literary Time-spirit."
In: ''Literary Likings''. Boston: Copeland and Day, pp. 107–130. * Conrad, Joseph (1921)
"Alphonse Daudet."
In: ''Notes on Life & Letters''. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd., pp. 25–31. * Crawford, Virginia M. (1898)
"Alphonse Daudet,"
''The Contemporary Review'', Vol. 73, pp. 182–192 (Rep. i
''Studies in Foreign Literature.''
Boston: L. C. Page & Company, 1899, pp. 49–77.) * Croce, Benedetto (1924)
"Zola and Daudet".
In: ''European Literature in the Nineteenth Century''. London: Chapman & Hall, pp. 312–325. * Daudet, Léon (1898)
''Alphonse Daudet''.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company. * Doumic, René (1899)
"Alphonse Daudet."
In: ''Contemporary French Novelists''. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Company, pp. 127–174. * Favreau, Alphonse R. (1937). "British Criticism of Daudet, 1872–97", ''PMLA'', Vol. 52, No. 2, pp. 528–541. * Gosse, Edmund (1905)
"Alphonse Daudet".
In: ''French Profiles''. New York : Dodd, Mead and company, pp. 108–128. * Hamilton, C. J. (1904)
"The Early Struggles of Alphonse Daudet"
''The Gentleman's Magazine'', Vol. CCXCVII, pp. 597–608. * Hemmings, F. W. J. (1974). "Alphonse Daudet". In: ''The Age of Realism''. Harmondsworth: Penguin, pp. 194–200. * Henry, Stuart (1897)
"M. Daudet."
In: ''Hours with Famous Parisians''. Chicago: Way & Williams, pp. 31–76. * James, Henry (1894)
"Alphonse Daudet."
In: ''Partial Portraits''. London: Macmillan & Co., pp. 195–239. * Major, John C. (1966). "Henry James, Daudet and Oxford", ''Notes & Queries'', Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 69–70. * Matthews, Brander (1901)
"Alphonse Daudet".
In: ''The Historical Novel and Other Essays''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 109–146. * Maurice, Arthur Bartlett (1901)
"Daudet and the Making of the Novel"
''The Bookman'', Vol. 13, pp. 42–47. * Mauris, Maurice (1880)
"Alphonse Daudet."
In: ''French Men of Letters.'' New York: D. Appleton and Company, pp. 219–244. * Moore, Olin H. (1916)
"The Naturalism of Alphonse Daudet"
''Modern Philology'', Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 157–172. * Oliphant, Margaret (1879)
"The Novels of Alphonse Daudet,"
''Blackwood's Magazine'', Vol. 125, pp. 93–111. * Powers, Lyall H. (1972). "James's Debt to Alphonse Daudet", ''Comparative Literature'', Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 150–162. * Ransome, Arthur (1913)
"Alphonse Daudet".
In: ''Portraits and Speculations''. London: Macmillan & Co., pp. 57–70. * Raffaëlli, Jean François (1899)
"Alphonse Daudet and his Intimates"
''Lippincott's Magazine'', Vol. 64, pp. 952–960. * Sachs, Murray (1948). "The Role of Collaborators in the Career of Alphonse Daudet", ''PMLA'', Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 116–122. * Sachs, Murray (1964). "Alphonse Daudet and Paul Arène: Some Umpublished Letters", ''Romanic Review'', Vol. 55, pp. 30–37. * Saylor, Guy Rufus (1940). ''Alphonse Daudet as a Dramatist''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. * Sherard, Robert Harborough (1894)
"Alphonse Daudet at Home"
''McClure's Magazine'', Vol. 3, pp. 137–149. * Sherard, Robert Harborough (1894)
''Alphonse Daudet: Biographical and Critical Study''
London: Edward Arnold. * Taylor, Una A. (1913)
"The Short Story in France"
''The Edinburgh Review'', Vol. 218, No. 445, pp. 137–50. * Whibley, Charles (1898)
"Alphonse Daudet,"
''The Modern Quarterly of Language and Literature'', Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 16–21.

External links

* * *
Works by Alphonse Daudet
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Daudet, Alphonse 1840 births 1897 deaths Writers from Nîmes French memoirists 19th-century French letter writers Deaths from syphilis Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery 19th-century French novelists French male novelists French male short story writers 19th-century French short story writers Daudet family 19th-century French educators 19th-century French poets French male poets 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights French male dramatists and playwrights